Proserpine
by Shadow Logic
Summary: Sora's kindness is the candleflame to the blackest of moths. An unknown someone has developed a macabre interest in her, and Narugami Kyoichiro will not stand for it.
1. Superheroes

After confronting Deathdas-marked monsters, a clone-mushroom version of his bat self, and the embodiment of the Underworld, Kyoichiro was grateful when TP Lady time-jumped into the 25th Century before truly escaping. The Ridon immediately took the lead.

" _Kyoichirooo_!" From the Ridon, Genshi gestured at him animatedly. " _You can leave the Professor on the roof!_ "

"Immediately!" Kyoichiro waved back, then looked down, using his free hand to pat the circle of Professor Yamato's fiercely clinging arms. "How do you feel, Professor?"

"Wonderful, wonderful! Such a view! Such a ride!" The poor Professor had been brave enough today, especially for an ally that usually helped from behind the scenes, so Kyoichiro did not need to make much of an effort to pretend he hadn't noticed the way he clung even tighter as he maneuvered the time cycle speedily, snaking past a few buildings and plunging low.

"It would be even more beautiful if you opened your eyes, Professor."

Professor Yamato must have done so, because soon enough he yelled "The research center! Yes, that _is_ a beautiful view!"

Once the Professor had clambered off his time cycle and offered him many awkward thanks, Kyoichiro looked up. It seemed Genshi and the rest had decided to do one last lap around the city before coming back for they were nowhere in sight.

Successful as he had been ignoring the Professor's terror, he was far less adept at pretending not to be put out at the absence of the Professor's niece. His face fell.

But Ammon was pulling at his cape. "Kyoichiro…?"

He smiled, which made her smile, and held her by her shell. "Let's go home, Ammon."

* * *

It was a little known fact that Kyoichiro had _two_ houses.

As a member of the Time Police Force, he had been issued a very comfortable house in the suburbs of Tama City. That house was his official address in the Time Bureau's records, and he spent a good amount of his time there, particularly when missions were coming in fast.

But he was also a descendent of an ancient and noble line of once-vampires, and had therefore received, amongst other heirlooms, the family homestead. Otherwise known as Mansion Narugami, closer in size to a small castle, and located in the Hunedoara County of Transylvania.

The castle looked small from the front, with its short, sharp turrets, but it grew downwards, and was greatly loved by its owner. Ammon seemed pleased enough by it too: she tipped sideways off the time cycle in shock as they touched down before its front gate. She'd come into his life while he was still permanently stationed in Tama City, and had never seen the castle.

Holding her steady by the shell, he gestured grandly at the grand structure behind him. "Behold Ammon, our home!"

"Kyoichiro…!" There were stars in her eyes as she looked at the lit windows. "Oh Kyoichiro, I get to be a princess! Thank you!"

Ammon had clearly recovered from her shock, as Kyoichiro promptly found himself tackled over the edge of the bridge and directly into the moat.

Much spluttering, climbing and apologies later, Kyoichiro finally collapsed into the plush chair of his sitting room, in blessedly dry clothes. He sighed in relief. "Home sweet home!" Leaning over one of the arms, he amused himself for a while by looking at the cheerful pink blur that zipped here and there, dodging into his bedroom ("So much room!"), lingering on the well-conserved antique furniture, the single, wall-long tapestry depicting the not too distant Corvin Castle sometime in the fifteenth century, the alcove with the window looking out into the forest reserve.

"You can pick a bedroom in the morning."

Ammon turned, the single feature prominent in her face her eyes, enormous and edged in wobbly tears. "Do you mean I won't sleep near to you anymore Kyoichiro?"

"You need your own room, Ammon." The little pink creature's face fell even further, but both of them knew he was being sensible. She floated into a nearby couch instead, and yawned widely.

"Tired?" Ammon nodded emphatically, and he knew she'd let the matter of rooming go for the moment.

Ammon yawned once more. "Who else lives in this big castle? Do you have a staff?"

"Yes I do, but they have likely retired for the night. They're friendly enough, and you can meet them in the morning."

Ammon yawned a third time, rubbing at her eyes. "OK." Her eyes seemed to droop "How strange," her small body seemed ready to overbalance from exhaustion. "I'm not really tired or sore, but I really…feel like I should take a nap…"

With one final, jawbreaking yawn, Ammon finally closed her eyes and tipped slightly sideways.

Then, not a second later, her entire body was engulfed in a sudden bright light with no warning at all

"AMMON!" Kyoichiro seized his cane and took a few steps forward. How silly of him, to think he could get comfortable so soon after disaster had only narrowly been averted, when the clock in the Underworld had managed one fell quarter of a swing of its pendulum –

Then the light receded, as suddenly as it had appeared. Standing before the couch was a woman with long golden hair and wide green eyes. Elegant fairy wings, so translucent he could barely make out their outline, protruded from her back.

His training indicated he maintain defensive position, but his senses prodded at him gently to relax. Perhaps it was the woman's serene smile, the very familiar shade of pink her clothes were, or the green gem set into her headband, one he'd seen often in the forehead of…

"Ammon?" Kyochiro gaped.

The blonde woman smiled kindly. "Super Ammon."

"Ah." Super Ammon, Ammon's level-up battle transformation. Her long blonde mane struck a chord, and he remembered a vague silhouette with the same hair, hovering over him as he lay in the recently excavated trenches, the ones that would become Emperor Qin Shi Huang's vast tomb. "We've met before."

"Yes, we have. When I turned into Amkoku, and you managed to get your feelings through to me. There was another incident, but I was only there briefly, so it doesn't particularly matter." She smiled again.

His returning smile wasn't nearly as confident. "And yet you didn't remember anything when you turned back."

"Ah, yes." She chuckled, light and chirping. "That is what I came to discuss. I thought I might have a word with you, now that things look to be less hectic. Would you sit please?"

Kyoichiro realized how threatening his stance was, and immediately sat down cavalierly on the nearest chair. Super Ammon folded delicately into another chair herself, opposite to his.

"I am Ammon. But I am also not Ammon. Most of the time-space monsters, if not all of them, have perfect continuity between their regular selves and their super selves, and it even spills over a little into their evil selves. That is how kind people like Genshi can get through to us even under the influence of the TP stamp. It was a warm sensation that flowed to us through TP Lady's words-"

A steaming cup of tea floated into the sitting room on its own, directly into Ammon's gesturing hand. She looked at it in mild confusion.

"I apologize, Ammon-san, the staff is very timid, but very eager to serve. I told, ah, I told _you_ that you'd meet them tomorrow, but they seem to be awake."

"Your staff is…ghostly?"

"No, not exactly, but a few of them are shy."

Super Ammon nodded tolerantly. "Then I thank them." The words were delivered politely and sincerely. Her smile became wider at Kyoichiro's expression. "You're wondering how I'm so different from Am-chan even when I say we're the same being."

"Yes, but I apologize if my expression was impolite."

"Not at all." Super Ammon sipped her cup of tea for what felt like a long time before she answered, apparently enjoying her drink. "As I was saying, most time-space monsters have a single awareness. Except, as it were, for me." Her expression turned a little sad, even though her smile remained. "My role amongst us is to be the healer and protector. I don't have vast offensive powers – I stay behind to heal and help, both my fellow time-space changers and anyone who is hurt. I am naturally peaceful, non-confrontational, and sadly very much useless in offensive battle."

Kyoichiro's confusion mounted. "But despite what you say…you seem to have the ability to absorb life energy."

"Only in very close range, which you will admit is not very helpful. It's powerful, yes, but meant to be in self-defense, and a power I frankly don't enjoy using. I only have the ability, I believe, so that I can absorb the energy of things like trees and flowers for the sake others, like animals and humans."

 _I can think of a good few combative uses for energy absorption, but if Ammon-san is right, her personality is just not suited for fighting. She thinks and feels like a healer, not a fighter_. Happy with his assessment, Kyoichiro nodded, and let her comment go by unchallenged.

"You weren't there at the moment, but I've also been known to produce force fields for a very short period of time. If my opponent is strong enough though, it'll last just one hit." Super Ammon shrugged. "Given all these things, I was slightly more at risk than my compatriots of being misused. I don't strike first, I rarely fight back. I am very attuned to the emotions of others. Even as Am-chan. Which is why I'm afraid I've been very rude to Yamato Sora: I can feel your tender affections for her as palpably as you can feel your blush right now."

"Touché." He recognized, but did not move to hide his blush.

Super Ammon's smile became almost giddy, as if his embarrassment was particularly funny, before withering and vanishing from her face altogether. "When we were scattered, I was afraid I would be captured and misused. We are all peaceful, even Tanegan, but I was especially afraid of being used in battle. So I retreated into myself with my history and my knowledge, leaving only my very basest traits upon the surface of my awareness. That was what we might call the birth of Am-chan as you know her. We are the same being, but Am-chan is my id, or rather my inner child."

"Hmmm." This was interesting news to Kyoichiro. "That would explain why Am-chan is so-"

"Needy? Don't mince your words, I am bratty and spoiled." She laughed outright. "I awoke with no knowledge of any previous life experience in the care of Vlad Tepes, and the doting, lonely count catered to my every whim. I felt like the center of his world, and soon became convinced that I _was_ the center of the world, his and all others. When the Genshi-gumi arrived, I behaved like most jealous children in the face of a new sibling."

"But you agreed to leave the Count."

"Only when you arrived. " Super Ammon sighed. "I knew that I would not be his rising sun much longer. Maybe, if I'd had to live in the research center with all the others, I would have slowly learned selflessness. But instead I found you, less doting than Count Tepes, but equally lonely. I believed you mine. I knew loss now, of course, so I believed it imperative to both become the center of _your_ world and destroy any threats to that position."

Kyoichiro lowered his eyes when she looked up, ashamed. He was permissive with Ammon, sometimes a little encouraging of her childlike affections, but always aloof enough to justify his taking distances when she got too demanding. It had always felt like the normal course of things between the two of them – it had never crossed his mind that it might not be for the best.

But he heard a shifting of plush, and Super Ammon's gloved hand appeared beneath his chin. "Please don't feel bad. You did as best you could, raising your little tagalong. Everything you've done, you did with sincere affection towards little Am-chan, even while sharing responsibility for the destiny of Time itself with Genshi and the rest of the Time Bureau. As Am-chan I had never learned anything but selfishness and insecurity, and yet you coped and cared for me. I am grateful for you, Narugami Kyoichiro."

Kyoichiro looked up into Super Ammon's kind eyes. Seeing no reproach, he let himself relax and smile back.

"And that brings us to now," she said brightly, sitting back. "As time has gone by, Am-chan and I have been slowly merging, both because I am getting stronger, and because through her infantile affections for you, she has managed to learn to put others- well, a _particular_ other, before her. As I become stronger, Am-chan will also mellow, and a time will come when we are finally one again."

Kyoichiro tried to imagine an Ammon who didn't wheedle him for attention or hang on his every word. Now that Super Ammon worded it so, he realized that he no longer expected certain things from her, like running away or attempting petty acts of theft to call his attention. The days of acting out were over. He smiled.

Even the very slight twinge of disappointment at losing his number one fan was forgettable in the face of the revelation: now, he and Ammon might finally be _friends_.

Super Ammon grinned widely at his expression. "I'm very glad you don't feel terribly put out at the idea of my not tackling you over the edges of cliffs anymore." She winked. "You are a very handsome young man, but I'm afraid Am-chan's infatuation is simply that, and will fade right along with her selfishness and insecurity."

"Well, that's good news." _Friends. Finally friends._

Super Ammon straightened in her chair, draining the very last of her tea quickly. She relished the taste of the jasmine for a moment, then she set the cup down with an air of finality. "My energy is running short. I will revert to Am-chan very soon." She huffed a little at herself. "Never mind. This was a pleasant cup of tea, Kyoichiro-san. I hope we may share another very soon." She sat back, brow relaxed. "You might consider taking me to see Professor Yamato to interact with the rest of the time-space monsters more often. It might help."

"I will look into it, Ammon-san."

"Please, call me Ammon." She scratched absently at her nose, eyes closing. "If nothing else, it will help me adjust…to Sora…". Super Ammon glowed brightly. When the light receded, she was back in regular form, fast asleep inside her shell.

With a fond grin, Kyoichiro tiptoed into his bedroom and dove into the book he'd been unable to finish since the day he'd almost met Napoleon Bonaparte.

* * *

When the Ridon touched down in its port down in the basement of the Research Center, Sora could hardly remember being happier or more nostalgic.

The time-space monsters were all safely back in the Land of Time, and it seemed there was hope aplenty for humanity now that the clock in the Underworld wasn't going to start any time soon. TP Lady had gotten away, but Sora was hard pressed to think badly of her after everything that had happened. That left them with essentially no villains anywhere on the horizon.

On the other hand, the house seemed larger and emptier that it had been for the past year, and the upper floor was dark as Sora trudged up the wooden slats of the basement staircase. Just yesterday they wouldn't have been able to get off the Ridon before a small welcoming committee of their monster friends charged in. Now, all that was there to greet her on arrival was a deep, near deafening silence. She turned on the lights on the empty living room and sighed, crestfallen.

Sensing her mood, Love-Love floated before her face, looking unhappy. Sora worked up a smile and picked her out of the air for a hug. "I'll be alright. I just miss our friends a little." Love-Love burrowed in her arms, and Sora felt a rush of gratitude at her gentle nature.

Displaying remarkable timing, Genshi darted up the stairs with a smie. "Cheer up Sora! Tokiji said the time-space monsters can't all live with us anymore, but they can still visit us! A whole lot!"

Sora immediately felt herself brighten a little at Genshi's words, and even Love-Love seemed to bounce with the news. "He did?"

"Yeah, they need to be over at the clock and have to keep it working, but not all the time. They only stayed there all the time before because they didn't have friends besides each other and Tokiji and Buta, but now they have us too. If they all have a day off together, we can even still play hide and seek!"

As usual, Sora was both amazed and heartened by her young friend's unfailing ability to find the silver lining, no matter the situation. Love-Love chirruped her agreement in her arms, and Sora beamed. _It will all be OK, just like it usually is._

There was an incoming call from Chief Jinguji blinking on the computer as the rest of the group clambered back to the first floor. The Professor all but leaped forward into the chair, straightening his hair as he went.

"Good afternoon, Time Detective Genshi and friends."

"Hello to you Rei-"

"The information we have received is that you have both finished collecting the time-space monsters, and averted an interdimensional catastrophe." Chief Jinguji proceeded unfazed. "We are informed that Time Detective Narugami was also involved in the mission to its benefit. While it is my responsibility to remind you that undertaking missions not issued by the Time Bureau is both risky and against the rules, I also personally congratulate you for your work and your dedication to the Bureau's ideals, above and beyond the call of duty. Additionally, I entreat you to enjoy a brief respite from missions, to recover from the ordeal. I thank you on behalf of all of us at the Time Space Bureau, and wish you a good day."

The call ended. Tokio and Sora exchanged glances as Genshi engaged in a celebratory rendition of the friendship dance by the coffee table, Love-Love and Puu-chan following the lead happily.

"It was a…"

"…pre-recorded message."

Professor Yamato turned in his chair, slumped over with dejection. Thankfully, he recovered from yet another failed attempt at inviting their senior officer out on a date quickly after that. "That's right! We saved the world and the fabric of time, we should celebrate!"

"Food! Let's have lots of food!"

"I agree with Genshi's food suggestion this time!" Tokio darted past his uncle to start placing calls and e-orders happily. "OK, we have orders on the way from the pizza parlour and that place with Tonkotsu ramen. Alll our favorites! Let's have a party!"

Sora laughed. Her uncle was probably not scrambling to cancel the incoming food avalanche because they were back down to just the core team, even if Genshi did eat enough for three or four more of them.

Thinking of teams made her think of Narugami-kun, and that made her wander to where Puu and and Love-Love had perched. "Puu-chan, could we make a call to Narugami-kun's? It doesn't feel right, celebrating together when he and Ammon have to go home to just each other. "

Puu nodded. "It's only right that they come. I'll use the Ridon's computer so Tokio can continue, uh…ordering?" Tokio seemed to be in an intense debate with himself over desserts at the moment. Puu shared a fond smile with Sora and obediently flew down to the basement.

However oblivious she often was, Sora was perfectly aware that their unexpected ally spent a lot of his mission time flirting with her. Whenever that had happened at school before, Sora hadn't had much trouble gently letting her admirers down, or even being a little forceful with the more insistent ones. Narugami-kun, perhaps by virtue of having Genshi's emphatic approval, had earned himself Sora's kindness, and his running to Genshi's rescue during the recent crisis had earned him her sincere appreciation. Particularly since he had run off without a word.

 _He never wanted any of us to realize he was going to the Underworld to help Genshi. Narugami-kun does enjoy the spotlight, but he is always very sincere in his actions._ Sora smiled to herself. He was at heart not unlike the flamboyant Mozart, vain and colorful, definitely far too passionate for elaborate falsehoods.

Puu-chan returned soon. "Nobody is picking up at home. I left them a message though, so they'll know they were wanted."

Sora's good mood dimmed just a little. _I should have expected that. Ammon is probably tired and eager to stay after being kidnapped anyway, it would be rude have them go back out so soon_.

Behind her, Genshi was retelling a story about Daina and Maito being lab rats to a very interested Tokio, and even her uncle was leaning in to listen as Love-Love fluttered above, looking happy to just be there. More than once, Sora hand wondered if the little monster's powers somehow thrived on the positive emotions.

 _And that's where I should be too_. With a grin, Sora put all thoughts of anyone not present in her living room out of her head and eagerly joined the party.

* * *

The party in the Land of Time could have been longer than any party in recorded history - if only because the land ticked out the hours of Time itself and 'longer' was very arguable in their case – but alas, Yomiji had shot the towers, and the time-space monsters all agreed with Tokiji than partying while the roof over their heads threatened to fall was very much like not partying at all. So after the venerable god of Time had given his little agents a feast of all their favorites, they'd headed straight to the task of putting the Land of Time back together.

Their work was essentially cut out for them: several towers had to have their top floors entirely removed due to the risk of collapse, many roofs shared the same fate, and large amounts of debris had to be cleared out. The unanimous decision, however, was that the gaping hole on the side of the Clock Tower would be priority.

Tokiji looked on proudly as the time-space monsters divided themselves into an efficient army: the naturally gentle ones like Tallun were left in charge of cleaning rubble, dust and other possibly dangerous material from the delicate machinery of the clock, Horurun set about turning the blocks of granite and sheets of metal that Monarisu painted into the real construction materials they needed, Jaba had made himself useful soldering the sheets shaped by Bouzan's knives, and Moaiwa coaxed brick and rocks back into their place.

"I should stop being surprised, since I saw them come to life myself, but the time-space monsters together are quite a sight, aren't they Buta?" The flying pig agreed and opted to drift around the Tower's top floor, allowing the tiny god on its back a good view of the work underway. "With a little motivation, the Clock should be back in its best shape by- ah?" They were rounding one of the large gears set into the floor when a sprinkling of something shiny caught Tokiji's eye. Noticing his attention, Buta approached obligingly.

Gold and silver shards, some so small they were little more than dust, were spread evenly on a swath of the floor. They glittered quite innocently, and would have been dismissed as filth for the dustpan, but something about them set the god of Time on edge immediately. "Eldora?"

The little winged serpent fluttered down to Tokiji's side at the sound of her name.

"Eldora, what can you tell me about the dust over there?"

Eldora approached the shards with caution. She inched her face closer, moving as if to sift through the shards with her beak, when something apparently felt wrong. Eldora recoiled just short of touching anything and darted to hide behind Buta.

Then, the shards began to move.

Like the first smoke rising idly from lit timber, the silver-and-gold cluster collected itself into a small spout, the coalesced into a shimmering cloud. It then floated towards the hole in the Tower almost lazily, drifting out into the sky, then kept trickling higher and higher still. Tokiji felt it vanish beyond the reach of his senses, very much like a time cycle when it crossed the time-space barriers of its current location.

Eldora peeked out from behind Buta, chattering nervously up at him.

"The remains of Yomiji's mask, you say? Hmmm…" That alone was worrisome. The mask was Yomiji's creation, a concentration of his anger, his loneliness and his desire to hide his vulnerabilities, and should have become harmless dust after its creator rejected it. Clearly, some remnant of Yomiji's powers and emotions had lingered in the mask, enough to give it some form of self-awareness.

And why was it moving so determinedly away from its former home?

Tokiji was all too aware of the state of his Underworld counterpart's emotions while behind the mask. If it had come to life, there was very little optimism to be had concerning its motivations. "I hope this is the last we see of it." He patted Eldora's head reassuringly. "If it isn't, I'm afraid we might have to take harsher measures against it." _If it ever returns, it might intend to take harsher measures against_ _us_.

The god of Time spared the mask one last thought before invoking the principle of good faith on it and turning back to his own creations.

* * *

 _A/N: this particular show didn't get a lot of attention, back in its day or now, so there isn't a lot of exhaustive information and I was in a pickle about the names (the English sub and the Wikipedia page contradict themselves as to the spelling of the monsters' names, and the dubs both in English and Spanish changed all the character's names entirely). I finally decided to use the Japanese versions._


	2. Goddess of Nature

The day after Time stopped dawned bright and clear in Tama City. The supermetropolis had long since taken care of issues like pollution and ecological sustainability, so the air was almost as crisp as the most remote country estate could boast about. Smog and contaminated rivers were a thing of the long-gone 21st century.

But to one Narugami Kyoichiro, it might as well have been raining acid or kitchen sinks. He slumped by the computer on his desk dejectedly, his face flat on the polished wooden surface so he wouldn't have to see the screen. _The one time I decide not to be home…_

He felt the slight weight of Ammon find a perch on the back of his head. "What's wrong?"

Kyoichiro groaned in response. Then he moaned. Finally content in having properly expressed his dejection, he raised his head just enough to accurately point beside his laptop, where the house's video-phone was blinking to indicate a message. "Listen to this." The video-phone came alive with a click, and the face of the little red pterodactyl droid who performed memory erasures for Genshi's team popped into the screen.

" _Good evening, Narugami-kun and Ammon…san. I am calling on behalf of Sora and the rest of us here at the Yamato Research Center, where we are throwing a small celebration in honor of our good work today, and we would like you to join us. However, you seem to not be home right now. If you see this before 10 to 11 PM Tama City time, we'd still like you to come over for some desserts. Puu-chan out."_

He felt Ammon wriggle angrily. "Well, humph! Almost referring to Am-chan so disrespectfully…!"

Kyoichiro was too gloomy to be sympathetic about Ammon's predicament. "An invitation directly from Sora, and I wasn't at home to get it."

The monster atop his head squirmed more furiously still. "How do you even know it was from her!? They only said they were calling on behalf of Sora and the others. How come you don't think it was Genshi?"

"Because Puu mentioned her specifically." Sora was also the only one who could have possibly remembered him. Ah, kind Sora, always selflessly thinking about others. He was so smitten….

Kyoichiro caught himself a second later and tensed. It was at about this point where Ammon got fed up of his 'pointless mooning' and resorted to violence to get his attention. And sitting on the back of his head as she was, she couldn't possibly be at a better place to land a perfect blow.

One beat. Two. Three. If retribution was coming, it was taking its time.

"Ammon…?"

"Humph!" She floated off his head and dropped onto the desk, in front of his eyes. "Well…i-it's not like you can't still see her just because you missed the party. You should pay them visits. Or something."

Kyoichiro righted himself in his chair. Ammon had crossed her small front extremities and had her face turned away from him in her classic, upset little girl pose. She made no attempt to hide the annoyance from her words.

But said words were about as un-Ammonly as he'd ever heard them.

He gaped. Ammon stole a glance at him and blushed profusely, even as she kept her pout firmly on her face. "What."

Super Ammon's words replayed in the silence of his mind, and Kyoichiro recovered. "Nothing, nothing. That was very kind of you, Ammon."

"Humph." Another stolen glance. "You're welcome. _But that doesn't mean you get to neglect Am-chan!_ "

"No, of course not!"

"It's bad enough that we had to return from the castle so early! I only met the cook and the maid who levitates the plates and then we were rushing over to check missions status and then Chief Jingujii sent that message saying we'll be off missions for a while and- and…"

For the second time that morning, Ammon surprised him: instead of progressing into full tantrum, she huffed mightily and turned away. In spite of himself, Kyoichiro smiled, and Ammon immediately surrendered at the sight of it. "Why are you smiling?"

"No reason. I'm…just very happy for how you are growing up."

"I'm _already_ grown up Kyoichiro!"

"Well, you still seem to be getting more grown up."

* * *

Kyoichiro and Ammon agreed to spend the first of their free days having lunch at the Haruna Restaurant, located on one of the topmost tier of Tama City's famous Terrace Park. After Ammon had eaten as much miso udon noodle soup as her tiny body could hold, and after Kyoichiro went through the final course of his kaiseki, they agreed to take a walk in the park (or rather, Ammon insisted and he didn't really have any objections.)

Afternoon was fading by the time they made it into the lower tiers of Terrace Park. "This place has patched up considerably since TP Lady and Genshi gave it a thrashing."

"Ah yes, when his father and the teacher went on a date." The word "date" made Ammon blush and grip her small cheeks giddily, and Kyoichiro only barely contained a sigh. Things had been going so well today, he had nearly forgotten Super Ammon's gentle admonitions that the process would be gradual.

"Fortunately, Am-chan and Kyoichiro's dates don't end in tragedy, don't they?" The sparkles in her eyes warned him that Ammon had likely retreated into a daydream, so he happily seized the opportunity to pretend he'd gone deaf and meet her comment with silence. _Forgive me, sweet Ammon, but I don't know how to react to these things without breaking your heart! Less so now, after your other self explained that you are little more than a young, lost child in your regular form._

The karmic balance seemed to be in his favor, however, because as the pair turned into yet another pleasant tree-covered walk, a girl with long rosy hair turned into their path from another part of the park.

"Narugami-kun! Ammon!" Sora waved at then enthusiastically with the arm not laden down with a bulging eco-bag.

Kyoichiro was at her side before her arm was set back down from the wave. "Ah, Sora-san! We meet again! This," and here he took her hand in his, "is what some call: destiny."

"Ah, not really. I was taking the long route home from the convenience store, and I saw you both when I reached the folly." She pointed at the faux Shinto temple a few meters down the other walk. "So I came over to meet you."

Longtime exposure to Sora had taught him to take these subtle dismissals as signs for him to back off, but his heart gave a small leap of glee. _Destiny is all well and good, but it makes me happier when she_ _ **wants**_ _to see me._ He gallantly kept his comment to himself, however. "The convenience store? I thought you and your brother would be at school at this hour."

"Oh yes, but we were let off early. The school is in a big mess right now."

"It is?"

"It turns out the Principal and the Vice Principal were Daina and Maito. And Aino-sensei turned out to be TP Lady."

Kyoichiro didn't need to pretend interest at the news "Aino-sensei? The lady who wanted to marry Genshi's father?"

Sora nodded with enthusiasm. "It was a big shock at first, but all makes little more sense now. She'd vanish a lot and always gave Genshi zeroes, and she'd get hurt and never explain why. Sufin even told us she smelled familiar when she came for a house visit." Then her mouth turned down at the corners and her shoulders drooped. "And it explains why Aino-sensei wanted to date Oto-tan. She must have wanted to use him against us, nothing more. Especially since she had been in love with that masked man all along."

"Hmmm…" Turning the boy's father against him had been a stroke of genius on TP Lady's part, as was playing on the entire Yamato household's protectiveness of each other to lure out the time-space monsters. But he understood Sora's sadness, since it meant all of Aino-sensei's kind wishes for Genshi had been part of the ruse.

Kyoichiro wondered, with some unhappiness, whether the former Aino-sensei's declarations that she would like to be a mother to Genshi had resonated in Sora as an orphan. Of course, he didn't know it for sure: Sora and her brother looked happy and well adjusted, always had decent clothes and were always fed. He'd soon realized that they lived with only one adult man, one that they called 'uncle' and shared a last name with, but no mention of parents had ever come from either sibling. It was entirely possible that she'd never known a mother figure at all.

Sora went on, perfectly unaware of his musings. "The District only noticed because Aino-sensei, the Principal and Vice Principal vanished without warning. The missing persons report got noticed up at the Time Bureau when nobody could figure out their backgrounds or contact any family, and then we told them TP Lady had been kidnapped and…well, it snowballed from there."

"I imagine they can get you a substitute teacher. The other two offices will be much harder to fill, however."

"I can't tell if it's lucky or not that this happened so close to school letting out. They can figure things out during vacation time, but I wonder if those three left unfinished business or didn't hand in their paperwork or something." As silence briefly overcame them, Sora smiled. "I was a little disappointed that you weren't around yesterday."

His heart soared at her words, and a lesser man would have probably forgotten how to speak, but not him. "So was I, Sora-san. Nothing would have made me happier than spending time with you." At that, she made that expression, the only one that made him falter in the worst sense: a slightly absent smile, perfectly charming but devoid of any real warmth. He'd see it sometimes, after he said something perhaps a little too…flowery, but the lively bunch they were usually surrounded by acted as a buffer. With no Genshi or Tokio or even TP Lady to interrupt them this time, Kyoichiro ventured the question. "Did I say something wrong?"

Sora blinked once, twice, and looked surprised. "No, not really."

"But you didn't like _some_ part of what I said." She faltered, unsure, and Kyoichiro reached for her hand again. "Tell me, so that I can change it."

"Narugami-kun, its…this. What you're doing right now."

Kyoichiro let go of her hand delicately, even as he felt like he'd been slapped in the face. Was the object of his affections about to dismiss him?

His face must have turned into something terrible, because Sora seemed to scramble for words. "Narugami-kun…" then she let the hefty eco-bag slide off her arm and plop heavily on the ground, tucking her fists beneath her chin. A defensive posture. "Narugami-kun, you've always been very kind to me and Genshi, and you're somehow always there to help when we're stuck. But you never talk to me about anything that isn't how wonderful I am. It's…like we never talk about anything _real_."

Kyoichiro had his own thoughts about that assertion (his affections for Sora were _real_!) but he'd have to admit this was the most they'd ever talked. Maybe Sora had that impression because of how little they got to talk, and of course he never missed an opportunity to try and woo her with his elegant turn of phrase.

Sora looked curiously torn between being upset and determined about getting her meaning through. "I don't mean to be rude, because you're one of our friends, but sometimes I feel like you might have said something interesting and didn't, just so you could say something nice about me. Sometimes I feel like you'll say yes to whatever I say."

Which was a detail only an observant girl like her would have noticed, but of course Kyoichiro wasn't about to say that, not at that moment. "I have always been honest."

"Yes, I know, you're not really the kind of person for elaborate lies." When she smiled, there seemed to be a much welcome lightening in the general mood. "But there is more to Narugami-kun than, well, me, right? That is the person I would like to see more."

And in spite of how terribly awry their encounter had been going so far, he felt his heart soar. He was opening his mouth to tell her exactly how happy he'd be to procure her the answer to her wishes when he managed to catch himself. "I believe I agree with you." Then he twirled his cane like a cheerleader's baton before tucking it under his arm and leaning to gather the fallen eco bag. "And now, I think there is nothing I would enjoy more than being allowed to escort you home, Sora-san." He followed his statement with a wink. "And I will talk about whatever pleases me on the way."

 _Way home. Home. Mansion. Ammon. Ammon!?_

At this turn in his train of thought, Kyoichiro turned around a little frantically. Ammon should have appeared to disrupt the moment a good long while ago. She was therefore either gone sulking, or…

He didn't have far to look: Ammon was hovering just behind him, wearing an absolutely thunderous expression and deadly silent. As they came eye-to-eye, one of Ammon's tiny eyelids twitched.

* * *

For kilometers around, the birds of Terrace Park took flight when a furious roar tore through the air.

" _KYOICHIRO!"_

* * *

"I'm very sorry I got Ammon upset."

"No matter, Sora-san, no matter." Kyoichiro sighed. "It was mostly my fault for not realizing she'd feel neglected."

They'd walked to the Yamato Research Center in relative silence. After parting ways with Ammon in the park (or rather after Ammon had informed them that she'd go home on her own, "no thanks to you Kyoichiro!"), Sora had probably felt a little guilty and he'd been busy thinking about how he'd make things up for her without feeding her lies like how he'd never even glance at Yamato Sora again, until the young woman in question spoke up to apologize.

"She won't be like that for long, will she?"

"Well, Ammon does have tantrums from time to time, but she's getting better." He looked at Sora, noticing the unhappiness making her mouth look tight and drawn. "She won't storm off to do anything dangerous, that is a lesson she hasn't forgotten. Please don't worry yourself, Sora-san."

"If you say so."

The silence between them stretched, but it was a surprisingly comfortable one. He'd turn occasionally and catch Sora's gaze, and she'd smile, to which he'd smile back.

If someone had asked him to describe escorting Sora home just yesterday, he would have envisioned himself talking a blue streak and being elegant and romantic while she'd be on his arm, laughing and blushing. Even though this was as different as it got from his fantasies, he was surprised to discover he didn't want to trade this silent walk for anything. It felt special.

It felt genuine.

Well, it wasn't like he'd doubted it, but now he could say Sora was **un** doubtedly right. Maybe he'd gotten just a little too caught up in wooing her to simply enjoy her company.

Sora skipped ahead to open the front door. "I'm home!" From within the house, Kyoichiro heard answers in every volume (Genshi bellowing his greetings somewhere deep inside the building and a clattering that meant he was rushing over to help along with Oto-tan, Puu-chan and Love-Love greeting her from the living room he remembered quite close to the door, a short call and an "OK!" from the Professor and Tokio respectively) as both of them hefted the bag inside.

"Thank you for your help, Narukami-kun. Are you staying for dinner?" She asked the question without affectation, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and he felt a rush of unexpected affection, not at all unlike his usual besotted admiration, but distinctly more…

Narukami Kyoichiro was rarely a person caught without something to say, however, so he agilely shelved the thoughts and put on his most winsome smile. . "While nothing would make me happier, Sora-san, I really should go home myself. Ammon doesn't know how to cook." Not to mention he wasn't sure just _where_ she was. Given that they'd left the time cycle there, he figured she'd probably gone back to the Tama City house to sulk, but he wasn't completely sure she hadn't tried to return to the mansion and gotten lost. Or hurt.

Yes, he should definitely be on his way.

"Ah, well, another time?"

"Of course Sora-san. Moreso if you're the cook. If Genshi loves food like he does, it must be because he eats well."

"Genshi loves food no matter what we do to it, but thank you."

They shared a laugh at that, but before Sora opened her eyes, Kyoichiro had hauled himself up to the roof of the house in one smooth, soundless clamber.

"Wha…Narugami-kun?" He heard her sigh and close the door as an unholy ruckus announced the arrival of Genshi.

"Sora! Welcome home!"

Kyoichiro smiled, both at his own craftiness and at the unexpectedly good day he'd had. "We shall meet again, my beloved Sora-san!"

And he would have leaped elegantly off the roof and towards the neighboring building after that, with a swish of his cape, if said cape hadn't flown under his foot as he took a step, tripping him into the Yamato's dumpster.

* * *

"Did you hear something, Genshi?"

"Huh?" The little caveman did pause to listen, but when no sound reached his ears, he shrugged and continued unloading the eco-bag. "Sora brought chicken! Let's have chicken noodles for dinner! _Ishi ishi UHOO!_ "

* * *

 _A/N: If anyone at all is following this story, kindly drop me a line, a review, anything! I will write this to the end, even if nobody does turn up, but if there is, even just one, I'd like to hear from you! This was an anime near and dear to my heart when I was nine years old, and while I know it wasn't very popular and there isn't a great big fandom to speak of, I'd feel comforted at even just one more person here with me._


	3. Intermission: Fiat Lux

In the vast nowhere between the Underworld and the human world, a pocket dimension received its first spark of life.

In the semi-solid darkness, made up of basic substances the human world knew like water and earth, a cloud of shards began to coalesce. Half of a golden, wickedly smiling face, conjoined with a mouthless silver face, materialized into an ornate mask. One that was alive.

The mask felt and thought. It also knew its history, and that of the man that had formed it.

 _Yomiji…_

The mask harbored anger, it harbored contempt for all that was below it (which was everything). It knew of power, and how to use it.

 _You've disappointed me…_

It held a vast, endless desire for everything: the universe owed it, and hence, he deserved it. All of it. Everything he might want.

 _But without the weaknesses you hid behind me, and with the powers you have left in me, I am free…_

A powerful beat spread all across the small dimension, and its substances reacted, displacing themselves from where they'd been from the moment they'd amalgamated into existence, for the mask had power of its own, just as it knew how to command it. Water danced and coiled into definite form, the earth rose and parted, and elements were strained from amidst it, mingling and acquiring shapes.

With the mask as its epicenter, an entire small world began to twist itself into order.


End file.
